pash

The soul equivalent of a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold, dark night

I was drawn in by the cast (what can I say? I have a soft spot for Kaho! ^___^) and by the deeply interesting premise (I'm a sucker for such time-related stories...so much so that, despite all my disdain for post-1980 hollywoodian productions, I'd still consider "recent" American movies like "Frequency" and "12 Monkeys" for a hypothetical personal top-100 of all time!), and indeed, Kaho is adorable here, and the plot is absolutely gripping.
The thing that really makes this movie stand out, though, is the beautiful message it conveys: that self-realization, as well as personal growth, can come through selflessness and caring for others. Such a lovely message indeed, particularly when the society we're living in, unfortunately, constantly encourages sociopathic behaviors instead (all is good as long as you don't bother the powers that be!), of course edulcorating them with sugarcoated definitions as "having a strong personality" (used for "being an arrogant ego-maniac") and "being competitive" (used for "trampling over others")...
That's why I wholeheartedly suggest this hidden gem: it's the soul equivalent of a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold, dark night! ^___^

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They had me at "baseball" and "Okinawa". And indeed the baseball bits, as well as the Okinawan setting and the historical background which explains the main character's drive, are definitely interesting and worth watching. Too bad the afore-mentioned main character is such a despicable person (imagine Sergeant Hartman from "Apocalypse Now", only in a high school baseball club setting) that it was really impossible for me to actually root for him. The acting and directing are very good, the dialogues mostly well written, but there's way too much violence for my taste, and I just can't condone the "victory at all costs" message. Hence the low grade.

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You don't need to be a regular "aniota" in order to enjoy this!

I must confess I'm a rare specimen among japanophiles: I don't like anime. No, seriously, I honestly find those childish voices plainly irritating and the whole "moe" concept just gives me the creeps!
And that's *precisely* why I think that the fact that I've watched this "Koe Girl" and really, really, really liked it speaks *volumes* about its quality!
Thanks to a very well-written script, to a solid performance by the whole cast (particular praises to Fukuhara Haruka, Nakamura Yurika and Yoshikura Aoi) and to a wonderful production, you don't need to be a regular "aniota" in order to enjoy this lovely dorama, which manages to be at the same time funny (for example, the episode about screaming was positively hilarious!!!), moving (Fukuhara's performance made my eyes wet more than once!), endearing and entertaining - so much so that I didn't just *watch* it, I actually *binged* it!

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Hidden gem! ^____^

Maybe it's because I'm 46 and single myself (although, in my case, not because I got divorced, LOL). And maybe it's because of the uncanny resemblance between the ML's high-school crush and my high-school crush of 30 years ago (ok, "mine" was blonde, blue-eyed and freckled, but everything else - body figure, shape of the face, cheeckbones, ears, nose, profile, hairstyle, hands, character etc. - was strikingly similar). And maybe (and more seriously) it's because, let's be honest - who wouldn't want to have a second chance at youth with the consciousness and experience of an adult (only the consciousness, therefore minus the beer-belly and the receding hairline, LOL)?
Whatever the reason, I was hooked right away and this dorama left a huge impression on me (I'm not ashamed to admit that by the end my eyes were wet!).
A simple yet not shallow premise, nicely developed throughout the series and masterfully wrapped up in the last episodes. At times I laughed, and at times I was moved. Huge congrats to the author(s)!
The cast (although, I'll shamefully admit, mostly unknown to me) mostly did a great job too.
The music was also a very nice element, needless to say, and so were the 80's references!
All in all, a perfect 10 as far as I'm concerned! Hidden gem! ^___-

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Where to start? Things like this "Yareta Kamo Iinkai" can only be done in Japan, LOL! ^_^; Ok, it's as weird as they come, but at the same time it manages to be funny and at times even moving for the humanity with which the head judge (that martial arts dude simply ROCKS, LOL) addresses the participants' stories. Too bad the other judges aren't that nice. The musician at least shows some (hint of an) emotion here and there, while the übercold businesswoman, always voting against the other two, never showing an emotion...URGH I just can't stand her! Oh, before anyone jumps at my throat accusing me of sexism, I would've disliked an emotionless businessman just the same - matter of fact, I just despise those icy corporate robots with their mistaken air of superiority regardless of their sex, LOL. Back to the dorama: nice jazzy score music here and there!

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As I started watching this "Koi to Uso", I must confess I was a bit skeptical. Part of me, in fact, was expecting (the proper verb would actually be "fearing") that it would turn out to be one of those "fake distopies" which abound in Western fiction (you know, those crappy stories whose equally crappy message ends up being "OMG we're so lucky that the society we live in isn't like that!" - whereas REAL distopies - from "1984" to "Brave New World" to "Fahrenheit 451" - are supposed to be the exact opposite, showing us WHERE our society will head if no action is taken).
I was underestimating Japanese writers, of course, and I publicly owe them an apology. Because here the "distopian" aspect is just an original pretext to produce an incredibly delicate but at the same time tragically romantic story, very well scripted as well as acted out by the cast. Particular mention, once again, for Morikawa Aoi, who's been my #1 favorite actress for quite some time (and I don't see anyone taking her place anytime soon).

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Not having being able to find subs for this, I've watched it without - therefore I can't say I understood everything - alas, not even close.
Nevertheless, the story is pretty easy to grasp (also because, being 46 myself, those situations felt awkwardly familiar, LOL!), the acting is great, the music fabulous. Although I'll take a seaside or rural setting over an urban one every day of the week, still I have to say I appreciated how they went and showed some more relaxing, lesser known and imho much nicer Tokyo neighborhoods than the overly used and, at least to me, overly obnoxious Akihabara, Shinjuku etc.
Can't wait to watch the following series! ^__^

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I often say that one of the (many) reasons why I like J-dramas so much is the incredibly vast variety of genres and of topics they address, and the great freedom the writers have. Now, this dorama is a perfect example of that! Where else could you have a whole series depicting banks for what they really are (the portmanteau "banksters" immediately comes to mind!) and thus having a bank's big gun as the villain, all the while having as the totally improbable heroes an old guy, a young and inexperienced fellow and two incredibly funny yakuza? Nowhere else, ne? ^_^;
Particularly worthy of praise, as always, Nagase Tomoya's performance, but also Kohinata Fumiyo's and Matsushige Yutaka's - who add some much needed comic relief moments (plus, one of the most tragic and romantic scenes ever!) - and last but not least, Okamoto Aya's; besides, she's to die for in this, period. The only reason why I don't give this beautiful dorama a full 10/10 is that I'm a bit dissatisfied with the ending; after having built up all that tension with such a despicable S.O.B. of villain, I'd personally want said villain to be utterly crushed, disgraced, humiliated, destroyed at the end (Kusturica's "Black Cat, White Cat" comes to mind, if you know what I'm saying, LOL). This "let's give the guy a hand" just doesn't sit right with me...

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I was captured by the lovely music (Chopin's the best, seriously!) from the very first seconds, and my beloved classical music is a constant (and very appreciated, at least by THIS reviewer) presence in this tv movie / dorama SP. Another fabulous feature of this "Mesen" aka "Gaze" is the direction, so tremendously "hitchcock-esque"; the viewers are drawn right away in the eery atmosphere of this masterfully crafted thriller/noir. Last but not least, I confess having a soft spot for Kokubu Sachiko: she hopelessly charmed me from the very first time I placed my eyes on that fascinatingly mysterious face of hers, and it's always a pleasure to see her in movies/dramas (too bad her filmography is so short, and to add insult to injury, the dorama where she has the main role are basically impossible to find, sigh...). And though I'm not Nakama Yukie's biggest fan, I have to say she's absolutely *perfect* for this part! Oh, and I almost forgot the cherry on top: part of the movie takes place in Ginzan Onsen, Yamagata...such a suggestive scenery! Well, all in all, a solid, tragic plot which could've been written by Shakespeare, terrific directing, very good acting, amazing settings and fantastic classical music throughout all of it! In my book, that's a perfect 10!

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Similarly to "Bungaku Shoujo", the only reason why I went and watched this dorama (or should I say, "endured this abomination until its conclusion") is the fact that I'm a big fan of Morikawa Aoi. And indeed, once again she shines through it like she always does. The big difference though is that, apart from her acting, "Bungaku Shoujo" was just "meh", while this "Kakafukaka" is plainly terrible. As I wrote while reviewing "Iguana no Musume" on another site: "Instant top10 of the WCE (Worst Cr@p Ever)". If I could use only one word to describe it, that word would be "EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!". Seriously, I have a question for whoever wrote this, as well as for the tv channel people who greenlighted it: "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?"
The only thing that could've saved this from getting the minimum grade would have been if one of the following two changes to the script had been applied:

1) All of a sudden, Jim Caviezel's character from "Person Of Interest" is magically transported inside the shared-house during the last breakfast scene, and of course he does what he's best at, shooting the male lead's kneecaps off right on the spot! (see if that brings up a reaction on that insufferable fish-face of his!)

2) Right after the last scene, an extra scene with the caption "some time later": we see a prison guard escorting the new inmate, Hongyo, to his cell. The prison guard opens the cell and introduces Hongyo's cell mate, a 7-feet, 250-pounds giant with a scary face and an evil smirk right in the middle of it: "This is Bubba, you guys are bound to get along just fine...you see, he also tends to "GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT!". Caption: "And they lived *painfully* ever after"...

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Nice dorama, mostly well written and acted (honorable mentions for Kanno Miho, Watabe Atsuro and Tokoro George), accompanied by some lovely music. You'll need a strong suspension of disbelief, though, as these guys keep bumping into each other as if they lived in a small village, instead of a metropolis, LOL. On the other hand (and this is the reason why I don't give it a full 10/10) the characters are even "too realistic", in that none of them is fully appealing; they have too many faults and even the apparently nicest among them will reveal a dark, hidden side. Something which might have been ok in a noir, but in a romantic story seemed a little out of place, imho.

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